MY PRAYER LIST

Having just received a prayer request I added it to my “prayer list”. Then I began reading through the list and was overwhelmed! I was struck by the ever-growing number first of all. Even with three columns front and back I have run out of room, and scribbled as many names as possible in the margins. I need to start a new list, but who do I leave off? Or do I start printing a “prayer booklet”, rather than a “prayer list”? Will that lead to a “prayer book”? See what I mean? Eventually we would have a “prayer library”! And all this from just one small congregation. Think about this on a world-wide scale. Obviously we live in a needy world.   Secondly, I was deeply moved by the varity and seriousness of the needs on my prayer list—needs of salvation, restoration, healing, comfort, jobs, finances, encouragement, and that mysterious category called “unspoken request”. I think of all these things and realize that there is no human help in sight. Regardless of how much I might want to help, these needs are beyond my ability.   Every name on my prayer list has a story behind it. In some cases I know a lot of details. In other cases I only know the name and the need. In no case do I fully understand what the person is actually going through. I simply cannot sense the fear and feel the pain as they do. I can only pray! I can pray. I must pray. I will pray! But, I cannot solve the problems.   Now, here’s the thing that impressed me most. As I read my prayer list, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the thought of God’s greatness! God knows every person on my list, and on your list also. He not only knows each person, He knows every minute detail of their life—every hidden fear, every tear that falls, every pain they feel, every enemy they face, every need they have. Not only does God know, He cares! No person is unimportant to God. He knows. He cares. And He can help! He has all power in heaven and earth. With Him all things are possible. There is not a question He cannot answer. There is not an enemy He cannot defeat. There is not a need He cannot meet. There is not a problem He cannot solve. He is God and there is no other!   If you keep a prayer list, and I hope you do, get it out and read it. Think about all the many people in need of prayer. Think about the severity of the problems they face. But, most of all think about God--He knows, He cares, and He can help. Think about it!